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Ottawa, city and vets going to bat for Cenotaph

Casper Koevoets, past president of the Victory branch of the Royal Canadian Legion (left) and Mayor Matt Brown are happy that funding has been found to repair the cenotaph in London. (DEREK RUTTAN, The London Free Press)

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City hall is part of an unusual fundraising effort to offset the costs it will incur restoring London’s aging Cenotaph in Victoria Park.

The downtown war memorial, built in 1934, has caught the attention of the federal Liberals, who on Monday announced $158,242 to help bankroll fixes to the limestone landmark.

The total repair tab is $475,200, and the difference — $316,958 — will be paid by city hall, out of its public art maintenance fund.

But in a move that some at city hall quietly admit could be controversial to taxpayers, the city is accepting donations from citizens to subsidize the project’s cost — a fundraising effort launched by local veterans.

“This is a way to remember them — to make sure,” said Caspar Koevoets, the Royal Canadian Legion activist behind the fundraiser.

“And (many Londoners) would be proud to say, ‘I helped fix that Cenotaph. I did my bit.’”

Though any money donated to city hall will offset the Cenotaph repair bill, those savings won’t go into city coffers, Mayor Matt Brown clarified later Monday.

If, for example, $10,000 is raised, that amount would be diverted from the city’s Cenotaph budget to improve other war memorials in Victoria Park.

Brown pledged a personal contribution to the fundraiser, though he admits he wasn’t initially OK with the city accepting donations from the public for the repairs.

“My initial reaction was I was a little surprised and I was a little uncomfortable with the idea,” he said. “The city is fully prepared to cover all costs associated with the restoration project.

“However, after being approached by (the veterans’) grassroots community effort and developing an understanding that there are many people who would like to make a personal contribution . . . I’m fully supportive and I applaud their efforts.”

Cheque donations, made out to the City of London with “cenotaph” in the memo line, can be dropped off at any Royal Canadian Legion in the city. They’ll then be passed to city hall.

The federal Cenotaph cash was announced Monday as part of $1.8 million in infrastructure money for 10 projects in London.

Peter Fragiskatos, the Liberal MP for London North Centre, said of the investments: “Our cultural history and environmental landmarks bring our community together.”